Parts of My Plant

Sung to: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”

Do you know parts of my plant, parts of plant?

Do you know parts of my plant, parts of plant?

Kinds of plant that grow and grow and grow

Do you know parts of my plant, parts of plant?

The roots hold the plant in place, plant in place.

The roots hold the plant in place, plant in place.

The roots store food and water too.

The roots hold the plant in place, plant in place.

The stem moves water up the plant, up the plant.

The stem moves water up the plant, up the plant.

The stem brings water to the leaves.

The stem moves water up the plant, up the plant.

The leaves soak up the sun, soak up the sun.

The leaves soak up the sun, soak up the sun.

The sun helps the plant to grow and grow and grow.

The leaves soak up the sun, soak up the sun.

The 􀃁 ower grows into a fruit, into a fruit.

The 􀃁 ower grows into a fruit, into a fruit.

Inside the fruit are little, tiny seeds.

The 􀃁 ower grows into a fruit, into a fruit

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Elephants, Dog and Mice

 

I have never known a dog and an elephant make friends. Elephants will eventually become accus tomed to certain dogs in camps, and dogs learn not to bark at them and always to keep out of reach of the slash of a trunk or the kick of a leg. The hatred of elephants for dogs cannot easily be explained. It is possible that they are afraid of dogs biting their trunks, though I do not think such a thing ever happened. It has occurred to me that it might be an instinctive dread of hydrophobia, which is the dread of everyone who keeps a dog in camp, Burman and European Assistant alike.

Nevertheless practically every European Assistant keeps a dog and I have almost always had one myself. The elephants hate them and one is always losing one's dog, owing to leopard, tiger, bear and snakes. The tragedies of lost dogs are often an Assistant's first experience of real grief.

 It is easy to ask, why, under such conditions, do you keep a dog? But I know of no other existence where a dog is so necessary as a com panion to share every moment of one's life and to drive away loneliness.

 So far as I know, elephants don't worry about snakes, though the 'oozies' (drivers) believe that a number of elephants calves die of snake-bite. I have had this reported to me many times but in no instance could I find any proof. The Burmans believe that the hairs of an elephant's tail pull out very easily after it has been bitten by a snake. But, as this has also to be proved, I was never able to accept it as conclusive evidence that an elephant had been killed by snake-bite.

There is a widespread belief that an elephant is really terrified of a mouse. The idea makes an obvious appeal to the human love of paradox. But, if it is true, I can see no reason Elephants, Dog and Mice for it. It certainly cannot be because the elephant is afraid of the mouse getting inside his trunk, since, with one snort, he could eject it like a cork from a popgun. However, most fears are imaginary and there is no reason why elephants should be immune from such terrors.

Taken from Practice and Progress, 1994

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Live Chicken for Dinner?

A landowner from Seoul went to visit his farmer in the countryside and was treated to a grand dinner of boiled chicken.

 In the course of the meal, the farmer's youngest son ran in, shouting, "There it is! He's eating the dead chicken.' The landowner thought that he had been served a long-dead chicken. So he put down his chopsticks and told the servant to clear the table, politely saying,

 "This is enough for me. My stomach can't take any more food.'

Just then, the boy started eating the chicken's legs greedily, saying at the same time, "Oh, this is really delicious.'

"Why are you eating the dead chicken?' asked the surprised landowner.

"Who eats live chickens?' replied the boy.

Taken from English Bestseller 12, 2001

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It Could Be Worse

I entered the hotel manager's office and sat down. I had just lost £50 and I felt very upset. "I left the money in my room,' I said, "and it's not there now.' The manager was sympathetic, but he could do nothing. ‘Everyone's losing money these days,' he said. He started to complain about this wicked world but was interrupted by a knock at the door. A girl came in and put an envelope on his desk. It contained £50. "I found this outside this gentleman's room,' she said. "Well,' I said to the manager, "there is still some honesty in this world!'

Taken from Practice and Progress, 1994

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English is considered Preparing the Children Today for Tomorrow

Parents strive to have their children academically competitive. Their goal is to send their children to good schools as well as to choose extracurricular activities that improve their children's skills and abilities.

 Children learn what is important through their school year. The question then becomes what should parents consider in choosing the best education for their children? When should the process begin?

 The answer is, from the time of birth, how ever, the schools become part of the process, when children begin preschools and kinder garten. This is when parents pick a school that parallel their educational beliefs. A joint effort between parents, students, and the schools is established. Success will be based on how well the "team" works. Parents need to look for a school that will be a "second home" for their children.

These are some important factors that should be considered. It is very important that students have good reading comprehension, writing and speaking skills. In today's world, students who develop skill in two or more languages will find further studies easier. English is considered the business language of today and is important for students who plan to attend university in English speaking countries. Mandarin is becoming more important as China begins to move into world economy. French and German are necessary for many students are now looking at oppor tunities in Europe. Students who develop more than one language have an advantage over competitors applying for college placement. However one cannot develop a second language unless one develops his or her first language. Studies show that children between the ages of two and six best acquire a second language parallel to their own. Therefore, starting students in school offering dual language instruction programmes have an advantage. If a dual language programmes isn't available, or is too expensive, parents may need to look at different ways to get the needed language instruction.

 Language acquisition needs to be active. A good school will begin with oral language at the earliest opportunity to develop speaking confidence and to set grammatical structures. When a child learn two languages in parallel, vocabulary and grammatical structures are easier to acquire. The earlier a second language is learned, the less problem a child will have with improper word use. The more active in each language students become the more proficient and confident they will be.

Taken from The Jakarta Post, 2007

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Paris

Paris is the capital city of France. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is also one of the world's most crowded cities. Lovely gardens and parks are found throughout Paris.

At night, many palaces and statues are lit up. For this reason, Paris is often called the City of Light. Every year, millions of people visit Paris. The most popular place to visit is the Eiffel Tower. This huge structure has become the symbol of Paris. The Louvre, one of the world's largest art museums, draws many visitors. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, a famous church, is another favourite place to visit.

Taken from The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, 2006

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The Wolf and the Dog

Once there was a wolf who was nearly dead with hunger. He was very thin, so that the outline of his bones could be seen clearly beneath his thinning coat of hair. With hardly enough energy to walk, the wolf had little hope of finding food. As he lay beneath a large tree, a dog out for a walk noticed him. Seeing how thin and hungry looking the wolf was, the dog felt sorry for him and said, "You are in terrible shape! You look as if you haven't eaten for many days."

"You're right," said the wolf. "I haven't eaten because you and your friends are doing such a good job of guarding the sheep. Now I am so weak that I have little hope of finding food. I think I will surely die."

Then why not join us? Asked the dog. "I work regularly and I eat regularly. You could do the same. I will arrange it. You can help me and the other dogs guard the sheep. In that way, we won't have to worry about your stealing the sheep any more and you won't have to worry about going hungry any more. It's a good deal for both of us."

The wolf thought it over for a few minutes and then decided that the dog was right. So they went off together toward the ranch house where the dog lived. But, as they were walking, the wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the dog's neck was very thin. He was curious about this, for the dog had such a beautiful coat every where else. Finally, he asked the dog about it.

"Oh, don't worry about that," said the dog. "It's the place where the collar rubs on my neck when my master chains me up at night."

 "Chained up!" cried the wolf, "Do you mean that you are chained up at night? If I come to live with you, will I be chained up at night too?"

That's right," answered the dog. "But, You'll get used to it soon enough. I hardly think about it anymore."

"But, if I am chained up, then I won't be able to walk when I want to take a walk or to run where I want to run," the wolf said. "If I come to live with you, I won't be free anymore." After saying this, the wolf turned and ran away.

"The dog called after the wolf, saying, "Wait! Come back! I may not be able to do everything I want to do, but I'm healthy, well-fed, and I have a warm place to sleep. You are too worried about keeping alive to enjoy  life. I'm more free than you are."

Taken from Opportunities Elementary, 2003

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The Legend of Beowulf

Once upon a time, there was a horrible monster called Grendel. He was half-man and half-monster. He lived in Denmark. One day, he went to the King's castle. The king and his men tried to kill the monster but their swords were useless. A knight called Beowulf heard about the problem and went to Denmark to help the king.

That night, Beowulf and his men took off their armour and put away their swords and went to sleep. The monster came into the castle and killed a knight. Beowulf woke up and fought the monster-he pulled off an arm! Grendel went back to his home in a lake and died. Grendel's mother was very angry and the next night she went to the castle and killed a knight.

In the morning, Beowulf went to the lake. He killed Grendel's mother with a special sword. When he came back, the king was very happy and he gave Beowulf presents and money.

Beowulf went back to his country and became a king. He was king for fifty years. But one day, a dragon came to his country, and it attacked people. It lived in a cave with treasure. The dragon was very big and breathed fire. The knights were afraid and they did not want to fight the dragon. King Beowulf was an old man but he put on his armour again and went to the dragon's cave with his men. …

Taken from Opportunities Elementary, 2003

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The Cleverest Student

            Evi, who is the cleverest student in the class, doesn't go to school anymore. She has to stop studying because she cannot pay school fee.

Budi, her classmate, came to see her at home.

"Why don't you go to school again?" asked Budi. "Our teachers asked me where you were," continued Budi.

"I am sorry. Now I have to stay at home because my father has stopped working at factory," told Evi.

"I am sorry to hear that. I think it is not a serious problem," said Budi.

"Oh, not to me. What do you think if I stop studying," asked Evi.

"No . . . it is not a good solution. Tomorrow you and I meet our headmaster to tell about this. Are you with me?" asked Budi. At school they meet the headmaster in his office. The headmaster is surprised to see the two students in his office.

 "What's up? What can I do for you?" asked the headmaster.

"Excuse me, Sir. May I study here without payment? My father cannot pay my school fee. Because now he just stays at home after he has been laid off by the company," told Evi.

"Okay. If so, you may not stop studying here. All payments are my responsibility" said the headmaster. "You are a very smart student. I'm glad you still want to study in this school."

"Thank you very much. That's kind of you," said Evi happily.

                                                                                        Taken from English for SMA 2, 2005

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Making an Omelette

This is the way an omelette should be made. It is important that the fryingpan should be propor tionate to the number of eggs; in other words, to the size of the omelette. The fryingpan must be made of iron, not of aluminium, tin or enamel. And here I feel I must stress a point essential to what might be called the background of omelette-making, namely that the frying-pan must never be washed with water but rubbed, when hot, with salt and tissue paper, as this is the only way to prevent sticking.

 For three portions, we take six eggs, break them into a bowl, season them with salt and freshly ground pepper, and add a good teaspoonful of water. We beat this lightly with a fork or the wire–broom, not the whisk, until large bubbles form on the top. This takes half a minute; it is fatal to beat too long. Meanwhile, our fryingpan is getting hot, not too hot, and we drop in an ounce and a half of butter, or butter and best lard, over a quick flame for a minute or two, until it gives no more froth and has turned light golden. We give our egg-mixture another stir and pour it into the fan, letting it spread evenly over the frying–pan.

 All this is a swift business, and we may well feel a few extra heart–beats and a little breath lessness at that moment. The flame is now turned down a little. With a fork or palette-knife (a fork seems to work particularly well) we loosen the edges of the omelette all round and, once or twice, in the middle, letting the liquid flow into the empty spaces, taking care always to move towards the middle.

 This takes about two minutes. Then, keeping as calm as we possibly can, we fold it. This is easy if we fold over and pin down with two or three fork-pricks about an inch and-a-half of the omelette along one side. Then, it is quite easy to roll it into shape. Our omelette should be golden brown outside and wet inside: baveuse, as the classical French term says. It is then slid on to a hot plate and its surface made shiny with a little butter. This last touch makes all the difference.

Taken from: Developing English Copetences grade 10

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The Fortune Teller

In the great city of Taipei, there lived a man called Lin and his wife. They had no children. Because of this, they were very unhappy. One day, they found a baby boy outside their door. He was wrapped in a blanket and crying. They took the baby into their house and called him Sau Ling. They loved him very much.

 When Sau Ling was a young man, a fortune-teller came to the house. "You must send your son away," he said. "One day he will become a thief and cause you a lot of trouble."

Mr and Mrs Lin were very sad to hear this. They believed what the fortune-teller said. They gave Sau Ling some clothes and money and sent him away.

Several years later, Sau Ling was having a meal in an inn several miles from Taipei. He put his bag on the floor near his table. After finishing his meal, he picked up his bag. "That's strange!" he thought, "It feels so heavy." He looked inside. It was full of small gold bars. Then he realised that someone had taken his bag by mistake and left another bag, in its place.

 That evening, a young man came to the inn, "Has anyone seen my bag?" he asked. Sau Ling was very honest. He returned the bag to him. The young man thanked him. "You are really very honest," he said, "I shall ask my Read the following words taken from the text. Then find their synonyms. father to give you a job." The young man's father was a rich merchant. He gave Sau Ling a good job. "But go home first," he said, "and take a holiday." Sau Ling returned to Taipei. Mr and Mrs Lin were delighted to see him again. The fortune-teller was also present. Sau Ling told them what had happened. The fortune-teller did not know what to say. He left the house without saying a word. Mr and Mrs Lin never believed in fortune-teller after that. Sau Ling took them to live with him and they were very happy and contented until the end of their lives.

Taken from Favourite Stories from Taiwan, 2000

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A Story about Red

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"

If you were tall enough, you might have seen a little splash of red in the tall grass. And if you had looked closer you might have seen a small girl wearing a red ribbon.

Rosaura was hiding from her mother and father. It was her favourite game. She crouched quietly, listening to the faint sound of her mother's voice. All Rosaura could see were the swaying green stalks of the corn. They rustled above her head where the sky stretched clear and blue. Suddenly, a bright yellow butterfly darted by. Rosaura jumped up to chase the butterfly, forgetting all about her hiding game.

"Rosaura! There you are," called her mother. "It's time for lunch."

It was dark and cool in the cottage where Rosaura lived with her parents. Rosaura ate her meal quickly. She wanted to go back into the sunshine to play. As soon as she had finished her food she slipped down from her chair.

"Rosaura, where are you going?" called her mother.

She caught a glimpse of Rosaura's

red ribbon disappearing around the door. But Rosaura was already through the gate, and heading for the fields.

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"

Was that the sound of her mother calling, or the wind whispering in the corn? Rosaura was not sure. All day long through the hot summers she loved to run in the fields. Her feet were scratched and her toes bruised on stones as she chased after the mice hiding in the corn stalks. Her skin was brown as a nut from the sun. In her tangled black hair, her red ribbon fluttered.

The afternoon stretched out long and hot. As the sun reached the far side of the field, Rosaura's father walked back to the cottage. His eyes scanned the fields for Rosaura's red ribbon. But it was nowhere to be seen.

"Hasn't Rosaura come back yet?" asked her father as he came through the door.

"Not yet," said her mother, "I'm sure she'll be back soon."

But the supper was ready and still there was no sign of Rosaura. Now the sun had set, casting a red glow over the fields. Rosaura's mother and father stood at the door of their cottage, staring over the field, looking for the red ribbon.

"Rosaura! Rosaura!"

Soon the shadows were deep blue in the yard. It was too dark to see the red ribbon now. Rosaura's parents began to walk and call for her in the field. As night fell, they fetched lamp that lit up patches of corn and grass and startled the sleeping mice. But they could find no red ribbon.

Rosaura's parents called and called all through the night. In the dawn, they stood alone and sad amongst the corn. The red morning sun lit up their tired faces.

"Look!" cried Rosaura's mother suddenly. "There she is!"

 They began to run towards the red ribbon that she had spotted among the corn. But oh! It wasn't Rosaura's ribbon at all, but the red petals of a flower. Rosaura's mother and father had never seen such a flower before. Her father looked away in disappointment.

"I see her!" he cried.

And again they ran towards the dear red ribbon. But it was another red flower. As the sun came up bright and strong, Rosaura's mother and father looked around the field. It was filled with red flowers swaying and fluttering in the tall grass. Rosaura's mother and father felt so sad.

"Rosaura won't be coming home anymore," said her mother. "She was always happier in the fields."

"But the spirits have left us these flowers to remind us of her," said Rosaura's father. "They will stay with us!" Every year, when the corn ripened and the evenings grew long,

Rosaura's parents stood at the edge of the fields and watched the red flowers dancing under the sun. And that, say the Indians, is how the red poppy came to be.

Taken from Childcraft: World of Colour, 2003

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Shadow Puppet Show: Durna's Trap

The story started with Durna who was teaching the art of archery to the children of Hastina Kingdom at the palace's yard. From far away, a young man watched the practice. He was Ekalaya, the crown prince of Parang Gelung Kingdom.

Ekalaya wanted to study with Durna but was rejected, since the man promised only to teach children of Pandawa and Kurawa. Still Ekalaya was neither angry nor revengeful. His strong will to study from Durna influenced him go to the forest and create a statue of Durna as a symbol of Durna's presence. With this statue as his ima ginative teacher, Ekalaya learned how to shoot arrows by himself. The result was astonishing; Ekalaya turned very skillfull in shooting arrows just like Arjuna, Durna's favourite student.

Ekalaya finally encountered Arjuna, who was hunting in the forest. Arjuna was surprised to find that an arrow struck the animal he was hunting. It turned out the arrow belonged to Ekalaya. Innocently, Ekalaya said he was Durna's student.

Durna was surprised when Arjuna told him about Ekalaya. When he met Ekalaya, Durna trapped him saying he would admit Ekalaya as his student if he cut off the thumb of his right hand as evidence of his loyalty to his master.

 Ekalaya followed the request but then rea lised he had been cheated. Angry and disappoin ted, he knew Durna did not want anybody to rival Arjuna. Ekalaya became angrier when he was told by his wife that Arjuna was in love with her and challenged Arjuna to a duel.

Taken from Childcraft: World of Colour, 2003

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Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is a famous area of waterfalls. It is one of the most beautiful natural wonders of North America. It is on the Niagara River, about halfway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Niagara River forms part of the border between Canada and the United States.

At Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is on one side of the river, and the U.S. state of New York is on the other side. Niagara Falls really has two waterfalls. The Horseshoe Falls are in Canada, and the American Falls are in the United States.

The Niagara River drops into a steep gorge or canyon, at the falls. Most of the water flows over the Horseshoe Falls. They are not as high as the American Falls, but they are 2,600 feet (792 metres) wide–about 0.5 mile (0.8 kilometre). The American Falls are about 1,000 feet (305 metres) wide. Beyond the falls are the Whirlpool Rapids. There, the powerful swirling water has carved a bowl out of the rock.

At night, coloured lights shine on the thundering falls. About 10 million people visit Niagara Falls each year.

Taken from The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, 2006

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Pueblo Bonito

One thousand years ago, in the desert of the Chaco Canyon, the Anasazi people built nine multi-storey buildings called ‘Great Houses'. They used stone for the walls and wood for the floors, doors and roofs. They transported more than 200,000 trees from forests almost 80 kilometres away. How did they move the trees? We don't know.

In some buildings there are huge circular rooms called ‘kivas'—the biggest one is under ground and it is about 16 metres wide. Why did the Anasazi build circular rooms? We don't know. Perhaps they used them for religious ceremonies or for storing crops. We know the Anasazi people abandoned the Great Houses. Why did they leave? Hunger? War? We really don't know.

Taken from Cambridge English for Schools, 2000

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Great Zimbabwe

In 1871 Karl Mauch, a German, discovered a huge stonewalls in Zimbabwe, Africa. The walls covered 25 hectares around what is now called ‘Great Zimbabwe'. Great Zimbabwe is the most impressive Iron Age site in Africa. On top of a hill, there is a large castle and under neath this is the ‘Great Enclosure'. The Great Enclosure has enormous walls – sometimes 11 metres high and 1.2 metres thick. Inside the Great Enclosure there are many huts, passages and rooms and a mysterious 9-metre-high stone tower that has no stairs, no windows, and no doors. Why did they build the tower? We don't know. We don't even know who built Great Zimbabwe – it is a mystery to African and foreign archaeologists. They think the Great Enclosure was built about 1,000 years ago.

Taken from Cambridge English for Schools, 2000

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Easter Island

Easter Island is in the South Pacific, 3,700 kilometres from the coast of Chile. On the island, there are 600 large statues. We don't know who built them but they were probably constructed between 1150 and 1500. We don't really know why they are there. The Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, believed that they were built by people from South America. To prove this, he made a simple raft and sailed there, all the way from Peru.

Archaeologists think that the statues represent dead tribal leaders. We don't know why the statues left alone on the island. Perhaps they were killed by disease or war. Perhaps the builders used all the natural resources on the island. There are many unanswered questions about Easter Island.

Taken from Cambridge English for Schools, 2000

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Three Foolish Sons

There was a rich man who had three sons. They lived in a large house in the town of Keelung in northern Taiwan.

 One day, he said to his sons, "You are no longer children. You must do something to earn your own living. When I die, I am not going to leave you very much money. I started with nothing and made a fortune by working hard. You must do the same. Now, here is two hundred dollars for each of you. You can use it to start your own

business."

The three sons went off separately. The eldest son met a hunter. He thought that hunting would be fine so he bought a gun from him for two hundred dollars. The second son met a basketmaker. He bought a set of tools from him so that he could make baskets. The third son met a doctor who told him that he had a medicine which could cure all diseases. He bought it from him for two hundred dollars.

When the rich man heard what his sons had done with the money he had given them, he was very angry. "What stupid sons I have!" He said.

One day, the eldest son tried to shoot a fly on his father's forehead. Instead, he killed his father. The second son picked up his tools and tried to repair the damage to his father's head. The third son tried to cure his father with medicine which he had bought.

Everyone said that the three sons were very foolish. They had spent all their money uselessly.

Taken from Favourite Stories from Taiwan, 2000

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Blind Listening

A stupid man was sent by his father to sell salt. He first went to a mining area but nobody there wanted his salt. When he returned home, his father told him that if he had helped the miners to dig, they would have bought his salt.

The man next went to a house where a wedding was taking place. There he dug a huge hole. This made the people angry and they chased him away. When he returned home, his father told him that if he had beaten a drum and danced instead, the people there would have bought salt from him.

 Then, he went to a village where there happened to be a fire. Rushing to the place, he started drumming and dancing, only to be thrown out by the people. His father told him that he should have poured water on the fire instead, if he wanted to sell salt there.

 In the next place he went to, a couple were fighting with each other. The foolish man poured a bucketful of water on them, again to be chased away. His father later told him that he should have tried to settle the quarrel, in which case they would have bought salt from him. In the final event, the man saw two bulls fighting with each other. He stepped in to stop the fight and was gored to death by angry bulls.

Taken from English Bestseller 12, 2001

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r.a Kartini

 Every April 21 people in indonesi commemorate the kartini day. it is beautiful day for the woman because we celebrate the birth of great lady ra. kartini. everyone knows who kartini is. she is our national heroine and a great lady with the bright idea.

kartini was born in 1879 april 21 in mayong jepara. her father was rmaa. sosroningrat wedana (assistant of head of regency) in mayong. her mother, ma ngasirah was a girl from teluk awur village in jepara asthe daughter of a noble family, she felt luck because she got more than the ordinary people got. she got better education than other children.

In november 12 1903 she married adipati djoyodiningrat, the head of rembang regency. according to javanese tradition kartini had to follow her husband. then she moved to rembang. in september 13 1904 she gave a birth to her son. his name was singgih. but after giving birth to a son, her condition was getting worse and she finally passed away on september 17 1904 on her 25 years old now kartini has gone. but her spirit and dream will always be in our heart. nowadays indonesian women progress is influenced by kartini's spirit stated on collection of letter habis gelap terbitlah terang from the dusk to the dawn.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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The Fox and the Crow

 

A crow, perched in a tree with a piece of cheese in his beak, attracted the eye and nose of a fox. "If you can sing as prettily as you sit," said the fox, "then you are the prettiest singer within my scent and sight." The fox had read somewhere, and somewhere, and somewhere else, that praising the voice of a crow with a cheese in his beak would make him drop the cheese and sing. But this is not what happened to this particular crow in this particular case.

 "They say you are sly and they say you are crazy," said the crow, having carefully removed the cheese from his beak with the claws of one foot, "but you must be nearsighted as well. Warblers wear gay hats and colored jackets and bright vest, and they are a dollar a hundred. I wear black and I am unique.

 "I am sure you are," said the fox, who was neither crazy nor nearsighted, but sly. "I recognize you, now that I look more closely, as the most famed and talented of all birds, and I fain would hear you tell about yourself, but I am hungry and must go."

 "Tarry awhile," said the crow quickly, "and share my lunch with me." Whereupon he tossed the cunning fox the lion's share of the cheese, and began to tell about himself. "A ship that sails without a crow's nest sails to doom," he said. "Bars may come and bars may go, but crow bars last forever. I am the pioneer of flight, I am the map maker. Last, but never least, my flight is known to scientists and engineers, geometricians, and scholar, as the shortest distance between two points. Any two points," he concluded arrogantly.

 "Oh, every two points, I am sure," said the fox. "And thank you for the lion's share of what I know you could not spare." And with this he trotted away into the woods, his appetite appeased, leaving the hungry crow perched forlornly in the tree.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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The Tiger Who Would Be King

One morning the tiger woke up in the jungle and told his mate that he was king of beasts.

 "Leo, the lion, is king of beasts," she said.

 "We need a change," said the tiger. "The creatures are crying for a change."

 The tigress listened but she could hear no crying, except that of her cubs.

 "I'll be king of beasts by the time the moon rises," said the tiger. "It will be a yellow moon with black stripes, in my honour."

"Oh sure," said the tigress as she went to look after her young, one of whom, a male, very like his father, had got an imaginary thorn in his paw.

 The tiger prowled through the jungle till he came to the lion's den. "Come out," he roared," and greet the king of beasts! The king is dead, long live the king!"

 Inside the den, the lioness woke her mate. "The king is here to see you," she said.

 "What king?" he inquired, sleepily.

 "The king of beasts," she said.

 "I am the king of beasts," roared Leo and he charged out of the den to defend his crown against the pretender.

 It was a terrible fight and it lasted until the setting of the sun. All the animals of the jungle joined in, some taking the side of the tiger and others the side of the lion. Every creature from the aardvark to the zebra took part in the struggle to overthrow the lion or to repulse the tiger, and some did not knot know which they were fighting for, and some fought for both, and some fought whoever was nearest and some foughtfor the sake of fighting.

"What are we fighting for?" someone asked the aardvark.

 "The old order," said the aardvark.

 "What are we dying for?" someone asked the zebra.

 "The new order," said the zebra.

When the moon rose, fevered and gibbous, it shone upon a jungle in which nothing stirred except a macaw and a cockatoo, screaming in horror. All the beasts were dead except the tiger, and his days were numbered and his time was ticking away. He was monarch of all he surveyed, but it didn't seem to mean anything.

Taken from Readings to Remember, 2004

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